Nearly one year after students voiced political dissent at a speech given by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, the Orange County District Attorney has pressed 'conspiracy' charges against 11 of them.
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas issued a press release Feb. 4th outling the charges. The statement, titled 'OCDA CHARGES 11 MEN WITH CONSPIRACY TO DISRUPT A MEETING DURING SPEECH BY ISRAELI AMBASSADOR AT UCI' read in part,
'Each defendant is charged with one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to disturb a meeting and one misdemeanor count of the disturbance of a meeting. If convicted, they each face a sentence ranging from probation with community service and fines up to six months in jail...The defendants are: Mohamed Mohy-Eldeen Abdelgany, 23; Khalid Gahgat Akari, 19; Aslam Abbasi Akhtar, 23; Joseph Tamim Haider, 23; Taher Mutaz Herzallah, 21; Hakim Nasreddine Kebir, 20; Shaheen Waleed Nassar, 21; Mohammad Uns Qureashi, 19; Ali Mohammad Sayeed, 23; Osama Ahmen Shabaik, 22; and Asaad Mohamedidris Traina, 19. This case is being filed because there was an organized attempt to squelch the speaker, who was invited to speak to a group at UCI.These defendants meant to stop this speech and stop anyone else from hearing his ideas, and they did so by disrupting a lawful meeting. This is a clear violation of the law and failing to bring charges against this conduct would amount to a failure to uphold the Constitution,” stated District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. ...The U.S. Supreme Court has found that the relationships and associations of the parties involved may be religious, and if a relevant circumstance to the existence of a conspiracy, are not barred from admission by constitutional provisions guaranteeing freedom of religion...The conspiracy charge could be filed as a felony. After taking into consideration all of the facts and circumstances of this case, the OCDA has exercised its discretion to file this count as a misdemeanor.'
Those being charged shouted lines such as "“Michael Oren, propagating murder is not an expression of free speech,” “You sir are an accomplice to genocide,” and “It’s a shame this University has sponsored a mass murderer like yourself.” The D.A. included these and other content of their speech when announcing the criminal charges.
The eleven have a scheduled arraignment March 11th. On December 9th, Rackauckas charged 19 other students with misdemeanor charges . Describing 'students and sympathizers for being disorderly ' 16 are charged with "one misdemeanor count each of trespassing, disturbing the peace, and refusal to disperse". Two others are being charged with "one misdemeanor count each of false imprisonment and obstruction of a public place."
100 UC Irvine faculty members have sent a letter asking the D.A. to drop the charges against the Muslim students.
Rackauckas, who worked as a night security guard and "social worker for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services", describes 'growing up in a military family in East Los Angeles.' His bio includes stints in the Army, as a lawyer, judge and D.A.
Rackauckas has a history of appearing at Anti-Defamation League (ADL) award ceremonies and has shared the stage speaking alongside "Joyce Greenspan, Regional Director for the Anti-Defamation League".
In December 2010, at an “Operation Stormfront” Press Conference, Rackauckas went so far as to include officials from the Anti-Defamation League along with law enforcement agencies who he said "represent the Orange County law enforcement united front in our war against gangs." He recently gave an "exclusive interview" with the Simon Wiesenthal Center about the conspiracy case. When asked by the Simon Wiesenthal Center about critics who claim the criminal charges will 'have a chilling effect' on free speech, the D.A. replied "that is silly". He suggested that the Muslim students could have protested differently, explaining "There were many alternative ways to have their viewpoints heard. For example, silently hand out leaflets..."
Rackauckas also lists the ADL Orange County Regional Office on the D.A.'s homepage under 'Tips and Resources', stating "ADL fights hatred, extremism, and terrorism. Their three priorities are to: gather, analyze and disseminate intelligence on extremism and hate activity; enhance law enforcement’s ability to combat serious threats; and provide assistance, support and resources on security to the Jewish community."
On another D.A. webpage, Rackauckas boats of prosecuting "hate crimes" of a man who "made anti-Semitic statements."
Yet another D.A. webpage states "Some common examples of hate incidents include: the distribution of non-threatening racist flyers in public", adding "Documented hate incidents can possibly be used to show motivation that a person goes on to commit a hate crime."
Rackauckas has been criticized in years past for using the Patriot Act against 'white-supremacists' and more recently for allegedly overlooking the misdeeds of a former State Senator.
During the student's 2010 Oren protest, a yet-unidentified yarmulke-wearing man attending the speech shouted "you are failing your exams" at the students as they were ushered out. In the aftermath, he Muslim Student Union was suspended by UC Irvine and forbidden to practice religion as a group on campus. Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren recently admitted that he was 'making efforts' to meet with all of the new Republican Congressional Reps at their swearing in ceremony.
See also: Man wearing yarmulke at UCI tells students "you are failing your exams" during political protest
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Martin Hill is a Catholic paleoconservative and civil rights advocate. His work has been featured on LewRockwell.com, WhatReallyHappened, Infowars, PrisonPlanet, WorldNetDaily, National Motorists Association, KNBC4, and many others. You can view a full archive of his articles at LibertyFight.com
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